


Earl Grey

by foxesnotopossums



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Future Fic, Heavy Angst, M/M, Rated T for language, Reunion, post 5x12
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-20 23:50:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6030379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxesnotopossums/pseuds/foxesnotopossums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian runs into a seventeen-year-old Yevgeny at the coffee shop he works at. Chaos and angst ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely inspired by Rust and stardust from Yevgenymilkovich on tumblr. http://ifuckinlikeit.tumblr.com/post/135163877208/rust-and-stardust  
> I hope you enjoy!

Yevgeny looks up when the bells on the door jingle lightly. He's working the early shift at the Marco's, so he's surprised at the noise. It's rare that anyone comes in to the hole-in-the-wall coffee shop before 7 am, and even he is still rubbing the sleep out of his tired eyes. A man with red hair walks in like he's taking in the place, almost like he's seeing it in a way that most never will. His eyes peruse the shop and he pays just as much attention to the fraying rugs as he does to the eclectic selection of local art on the walls. Yevgeny's heartbeat quickens when the man looks up and catches his eye, but he passes it off as embarrassment over being caught staring. The man doesn't seem bothered by him, instead his expression twists into one of confusion and disbelief. 

"Sir, I can help you at the register." The man nods curtly, but not once do his eyes leave Yevgeny's face, searching for something. It's a bit off putting, to say the least, to have a strange man. No, not strange, just unfamiliar. To have an unfamiliar man staring at you like your acne ridden face, if Yev had the misfortune of having acne, which he doesn't, holds the answer to an impossible question is a bit disconcerting. 

"What can I get for you?" 

"Tea," the man says before adding, "Earl Grey if you have it, please."

His voice is warm and familiar, like a cozy fireplace or a childhood blanket wrapped snug around his shoulders. Yevgeny nods his confirmation that they do in fact have Earl Grey. 

"Here or to go?" He asks. 

"Here."

"Name?"

"Ian." Yev nods yet again and gestures around at the well-used leather chairs around the shop, "Sit wherever you like. I'll call you when it's ready."

Ian settles into the burnt orange armchair towards the back. It's always been Yev's personal favorite and it stirs something in him to see Ian sit there. Ian looks like a page torn out of a magazine, glossy and beautiful, yet slightly torn at the edges. His tall, lean body is flattered by his forest green sweater and grey jeans that fit his legs perfectly, but his posture is terrible. Likewise, his hair is in a stylish cut, but it look like he's run his hands through it way too many times. He's disheveled and incredibly attractive, and Yev can't help but think that his dad would probably be drooling if he were here. 

The shrill whistle of the tea kettle startles him from his thoughts and he goes to pour the scalding water into a mug. He hates the tea kettle because it's always too loud and too hot, but Marco insists that they use it because 'It's about the aesthetic, Yevgeny!' But Yev knows that it's just Marco being a cheapass and refusing to shell out the bills for a more modern alternative. 

He brings the steaming mug out to Ian, along with a saucer piled high with sugar cubes and a battered spoon. Ian mumbles a thank you when Yev sets the mug and dish down in front of him. Before he leaves he asks, "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No," Ian shakes his head, "I have to say, I like the aesthetic in here."

Yev snorts out a laugh, which causes Ian to look at him strangely. 

"I'm sorry, it's just my boss is always on my ass about the aesthetic," he laughs, "Yevgeny, this Arabian unicorn shit coffee blend isn't aesthetic enough. It's all about the aesthetic, Yevgeny."

Yev is still laughing, but Ian stops quite abruptly. If Yev thought he was staring at him oddly before, he's convinced he must have grown a second head now. Ian's face is pained when Yev looks back at him. 

"What?" Yev asks, his tone bristling and his fists clenching. He doesn't like when people look at him with such open vulnerability, something he's picked up from his father. 

"Did you say your name is Yevgeny?" Ian's voice is hoarse like he hasn't used it in a while, barely reaching above a whisper. Yev nods slowly. 

What's this guy's deal? 

"Yeah, what about it?" 

"Nothing. Sorry, I used to know a kid named Yevgeny, I guess it's just a common name," Ian is lying and Yev can tell. It's as plain as day on the man's face that he's not telling Yevgeny something. 

Yev just brushes it off and returns to his station behind the counter. Meanwhile, Ian hurriedly throws his stuff back into his book bag and throws a crumpled bill at the table before all but sprinting out of the shop. Yev's coworker, Steph, is nearly knocked over by the man as he leaves. 

"Yo, where's the fucking fire?" She asks Yev, who just shrugs in response. Nobody can really blame him for being shocked by the strange encounter. 

............................... 

When Yev gets home from his shift that day, he goes straight to his dad's office. Office is a loose term considering the fact that it's really only a corner of the living room that's barricaded by a desk and some IKEA bookshelves. 

Mickey looks up at Yev in exasperation and gently grabs his son's hand off of the paperwork he's working on just to drop it a couple inches away and keep writing. 

"I have to ask you a question." 

"Okay." Mickey doesn't even look up. 

"Do you know an Ian?" 

Mickey doesn't even have to speak for Yev to know the answer. His dad's whole body tenses and his eyes snap up to stare at his son in shock. 

"Why are you asking me this?"

Shit, Yev needs to come up with a lie right now because there's something in his father's eyes that screams to leave this be. His voice is fragile and not much unlike Ian's from earlier today. He shrugs as nonchalantly as he can manage. 

"Steph and I are doing a scavenger hunt. One of the things is taking a picture with someone named Ian," it's a mediocre lie at best, "Also, do we have any radishes?"

It seems to work, though. Mickey's shoulders sag with relief and he shakes his head. 

"No and no. Now get out of my sight kid, I've got actual work to do." Mickey makes a shooing motion with his hands and Yev just raises his own in surrender before retreating to his room. 

There is something that his dad's not telling him that has to do with Ian, and Yevgeny is going to find out exactly what it is. 

............................................ 

He doesn't bother texting his dad before coming back to the apartment to get a bag of clothes and his tooth brush. It's a Wednesday afternoon, so Mickey's probably at the real office instead of at home like he is on every other weekday. So he doesn't think anyone will be home, much less be bothered by Yev just stopping in real quick. 

This is why he's incredibly shocked when he unlocks the front door and shouts hit his ear drums hard. Yev freezes by the front door, thanking the gods that Mickey chose an apartment where the view of the front door is blocked from the kitchen. 

"YOU LEFT ME! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TRUST YOU AROUND MY CHILD AFTER YOU LEFT US?!" Fuck, his dad sounds pissed. And not in the 'Yevgeny, you better stop whining' way but in the 'I'm about to seriously fuck someone up' way. 

"HE WAS MY SON TOO!" The voice is vaguely familiar, although the strain of screaming is distorting it slightly. The man continues in a slightly quieter tone, yet he still sounds angry, "He still is my son. And he's barely even a child anymore. He has to be what, eighteen now?"

"Seventeen and a half," his father growls. Who is this stranger and why is he fighting with Mickey over Yevgeny. The only parents Yev has are his mother and father, so why is this man saying he's his son? "If he were your son, you would know that. You gave up all rights as his father when you fucking left us. You made your choice, now I'm making mine."

"Mickey, please, just listen to me?" His voice is thick and wet, like he's crying, "Just let me explain."

"Explain what?" Mickey scoffs, "That you were too busy doing pornos and stealing shit to be a fucking boyfriend? To be a fucking father?"

There's a unsettling silence that follows and Yev can tell that his dad has just poked a festering wound. 

"I loved Yevgeny. I took care of him. I never would have hurt him, you have to have known that, Mickey."

"You were fucking sick, Ian. You still are sick." Yev is shocked at the suddenly gentle tone his dad adopts. A small sob breaks from someone's throat. Yev's not sure who's sobbing, with the amount of emotion in both men's voices, it could be either of them. His mind flashes back to the odd redhead from the coffee shop. 

"You think I don't know that, Mickey?" Another sob rattles in the air, "I fucked up really badly, I know. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about what I did to you. But I'm doing better. I started seeing a therapist, started taking my meds. I'm better Mickey, I just want to make things right because you didn't deserve what I did to you."

"Congratulations, I guess," Mickey's voice is anything but congratulatory, it's angry and bitter, "So you thought that now that you're good, you can just pop right on back into our lives? That we'd be a happy fucking family again? It's been fifteen fucking years, Ian!"

"I know, Mickey, I know. I just- I fucking miss you. I need my family back," Ian sobs. 

"You have a family."

"That's not the family that I need. I miss us, our son. Fuck, even Lana. I miss you so much it hurts."

"Yeah, well now you know how I felt when you fucking broke my heart," Yev has to bite his lip to keep it from trembling as his eyes water. His dad sounds smaller than Yev has ever heard him. 

"I'm so sorry. Mick, I didn't mean those things that I said-"

"But you still said them anyways."

"Mickey, I still love you," Ian whispers, but Yev can hear it, "After fifteen years, you're still the only person I think about. What does that tell you?"

"Don't, Ian."

"Mickey-" Ian begins to plead, but Mickey cuts him off again. 

"I said don't!" Yev jumps at the volume of his dad's voice. "You need to leave before Yevgeny comes home. I don't want you to fucking go near him again, you hear me?"

Yev doesn't wait around to hear anything more, instead he slips back out the door and hides around a corner where he knows Ian won't see him when he leaves. 

A few minutes later, Ian storms out of the apartment, rubbing furiously at his eyes and not even bothering to shut the door behind himself. He lets out a shaky breath once Ian disappears into a beat up Scion. How the hell is he supposed to face his dad after what he just heard? Fuck, he barely even understood what was going on, but he could tell that it was bad. 

When he does finally return to the apartment, through the door that was left ajar from Ian's exit, his dad is sitting on one of the bar stools, his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking silently with the force of his sobbing. 

"Dad? What's wrong?" Mickey is still full of surprises apparently because instead of wiping his face off and denying that he was crying, he grabs his son and hugs him to his chest tightly. Unsure of what to do, Yev gently wraps his arms around his dad's shoulders. "Why are you crying?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Yev gives him an unimpressed look, his eyebrows raising heavenwards just like his dad's have a habit of doing. 

"That's not a good enough excuse, I'm nearly eighteen." Mickey chuckles wetly. 

"Fine, smartass. I'll tell you when I'm ready." Yev nods and gives his father one last hug before going to the kitchen to prepare some dinner. His sleepover with Gemma can wait one more night. His father will never admit it, but right now he needs Yevgeny with him. 


	2. NOT A CHAPTER, JUST AN UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update on what's going on, don't worry you can skip this!

Hi there! So, I know these updates can be really scary, especially when our fandom is kind of crumbling, BUT I am not abandoning this fic at all. It's just going to be a little longer for an update due to having to take care of a family member and of myself. Unfortunately my body has terrible timing, so I've been having my own health issues. On top of that, school and my robotics program is extremely busy this time of year so writing is hard to get around to. 

I'm not going to ramble on about myself anymore and bore you all. Just wanted to let you all know this is still in production! Feel free to send me messages on tumblr at whatsthattoughguy.tumblr.com about headcanons, fic stuff, shameless stuff, hell, even personal stuff. You're all amazing!

~M (foxesnotopossums)

**Author's Note:**

> I have half of chapter two written already and I swear, there'll be closure and maybe, just maybe, a happy ending. 
> 
> If anyone is interested in beta reading for me, I would love to talk to you! Come say hi to me on tumblr www.whatsthattoughguy.tumblr.com


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